Chapter 2: Auristela

Acheron, Capital of the Holy Artemisian Empire

986th Year of the Corinthian Era

The city was more lively than usual as people milled about, placing decorations, clearing the streets, and setting up stalls along the main roads. There were also a lot of carriages with travelers and merchants from far off lands coming through the outer city gates, more and more frequently. Auri had counted over a hundred so far. The air of the city was abuzz with excitement as well, and it seemed almost tangible. It was so tangible in fact, that she could swear she felt it, even from the palace walls. A part of her wished desperately that she could be down there too. But she knew it was a pipe dream.

It was almost time for The Festival, and everyone in the empire was getting prepared. It happened on the summer solstice, and it only came around once every fifteen years. It was the only time in which the Saintess of the Temple could commune with the gods to ask for continued blessings of the land. This was also the time when the Saintess (the one who possesses the most powerful light magic) could bless the common people and hear prophecies.

Auri -of course- knew this to be poppycock, as she herself was the so called “Saintess” and had never experienced anything of the sort. However, she was only nineteen, and this would be her first time attending and leading The Festival, as the Saintess.

She had prayed many times before, hoping by some chance to change her miserable situation, yet here she was still. Perhaps the gods had just decided not to answer her prayers before now. Maybe she had to wait until the right time before they would hear her. She knew not, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care anymore.

She sighed in indignation as her eyes assessed her barren room. Auri was sure that if anyone outside of the imperial palace were to discover the state of disrepair and emptiness of her palace, they would surely question her status as the Saintess and an imperial princess of Artemisia. The whole place was devoid of almost everything but the bare necessities, and there was no one around to help with the upkeep. A thick layer of dust covered almost every inch of the palace, and from the outside, it seemed abandoned. The only place that was somewhat tidy was her personal chambers, and even then, it barely appeared fit for a dog -let alone a princess.

She sipped at the cold tea in her hands as she settled her dull, azure gaze back on the city below. Auri considered herself lucky to at least still have a balcony with a great view. It was the closest she could get to freedom, for now.

The city was a sight to behold. While most would find themselves enamored with its beauty amidst the celebrations, she couldn’t afford the luxury. Her eyes traced all of the visible roads as she drew a mental map of the city in her head.

Acheron was the largest city on the northern half of the continent with a population of over two million. It was situated atop a mountain and divided into four large sectors called “rings,” separated by massive walls that circumvented the entire city. The outer wall alone was over twenty meters in height.

The first and outer ring of the city was the largest and the most densely populated. Also called [The Lower District] to most, it was home to common folk and merchants alike. It was also the second biggest hub in the northern region for anyone who wanted to make it big. The city was a well known place for cultivating new talents and making quick growth, but it was also clear it held a lot of secrets.

A lot of Acheron was built on the ancient ruins of the first empire and many believed that those ruins could give them some kind of inspiration on their mage paths. Unfortunately for them, most of those secrets could only be found beyond the third wall and not many had the ability to even venture that far. There were a few -however- who had tried to sneak in over the years.

Auri had grown up hearing fantastic stories from her mother, about great mages who had gone into some of the unexplored ruins and come out having advanced their mage paths by two -or even three- whole levels. The stories were so amazing that she often found herself longing for such adventure.

The princess hummed in thought, as if she had just observed something interesting. She turned her gaze away from the city as she nibbled on a piece of stale bread, and made a mental note for later.

Although she was still miles away from celebrations, her abilities allowed her to see a great distance. It was a great deal more than the average person. She could even the lips of someone from a mile away if there was nothing obscuring her vision. It was an ability that she had taken a lot of time to cultivate and perfect over the years -mostly just to cure her own loneliness and boredom- but every now and then, she’d get to see something intriguing. And a lot of times, it worked to her benefit.

Most of these intriguing observations came from the second outermost ring of the city, also known as [High-Street.]

[High-Street] was home to many nobles of the empire who were close to the court and heavily involved in politics. Thanks to their positions and how quickly situations could change at court, they were required to be near the nexus of power. [High-Street] was an area filled with large houses, manors, and palaces, many of which still had sizable yards and gardens considering how limited available land was in the city.

It was also the place where most foreign delegates were housed when visiting the empire.

There were quite a few foreign nobles and royals visiting for the festival too, and the Auristela was positive that things would only get more exciting over the next several days. The Festival would last for a total of six days, and a lot could happen during that time. Many of the visiting bluebloods took advantage of The Festival -where diplomats from all over the continent would be in attendance- in order to forge new alliances, strengthen old ones, or even arrange political alliances through marriage.

While this could be a good thing, there was also the risk of someone getting offended and starting what could be a massacre. Unfortunately, it had happened a few times in the past, and many of the navite citizens were caught up in it.

It was also because of this that the Emperor Prior established a single rule for the foreigners who chose to visit the capitol: Stay in line and obey the imperial law, or forfeit your life regardless of rank or status.

Most heeded this warning, but there were a brave few who chose to ignore this and challenged the rule. It ended up with them all on the executioner’s block. Because of the laws, no amount of money or status could save them. Whether they were kings or peasants, they would still die just the same. It was also thanks to the fact that Artemisia had the second strongest military presence on the continent, that they were able to enforce such laws.

If anyone dared to fight back, Artemisia had the strength to wipe out most kingdoms within the span of a few weeks -and that was no exaggeration. Anyone who did get offended was forced to simply swallow their pride and return home with bad news. The only country that had power that could rival -and was on equal footing with- the Artemisian military was The Elios Empire, their neighbor to the south.

And even they were careful to follow the rules.

Thankfully this year, it seemed that the queen had decided to add more security in and around the city. Although, it wasn’t clear if that was actually for the benefit of the people or if this was simply to put on a show of being a “good sovereign,” Auri hoped that this would help sway the overzealous individuals who would harm her people without a second thought.

She took another sip of her cold tea as she considered her options.

Queen Mother was sure to make her move while the festival was happening. It was the perfect opportunity for her to do so with all of the foreign emissaries, dignitaries, and performers coming in and out of the palace for the next week. It would be so busy that no one would notice if anything was amiss.

The princess had also been snooping around where she could, and it was clear that the queen had been planning something big for months. Unfortunately, Queen Mother was also an expert at hiding her true intentions until the last minute. She put up the front of a gentle, caring ruler for the nobles, and played nice to Auristela’s face most of the time, but the princess knew the truth. She had seen the queen’s many faces over the years.

She also knew that it was highly probable that the queen was going to have her married off to one of her sycophants, Count Romain of Efferon, as a concubine. This was likely to prevent any possibility of her marrying or being offered marriage to a foreign prince or other high royal.

For reasons unknown, the queen had always hated her and there was no way that she would let her off that easily.

Count Romain was a fifty-five year old man, and it hadn’t been too long ago that she had overheard the greedy bastard trying to convince the queen to let him have her. There had apparently been a request from the neighboring empire, Elios, for her hand. The queen was not happy about it, and this was the count’s grand solution to help the queen keep the princess under her thumb.

At the time, Auri was too shocked to listen to the queen’s response and ran away before hearing the whole thing. The queen would most certainly agree, if only to make her miserable. The princess also knew it would happen soon. It would have to be before the festival ended, as Queen Mother would need to give Elios a response prior to then.

An imperial princess was typically not allowed to marry below her station. It was an even bigger disgrace and dishonor for someone of her standing to be made the menial concubine of a lower ranking official. However, Auri was an imperial princess with no real political power and no one to protect her. Most of the servants of her palace had long abandoned her, and after having been neglected for so many years -even by her own blood- she had also earned a third title,[The Abandoned Princess].

The Queen had done everything possible to isolate the princess and to limit her movements since she had taken the throne. Of course, there were still some things that the queen could not keep her away from completely, but Auri still had no choice or ability to control her own future.

The princess was certain that she would rather die before allowing such a thing. The count was a horrible man and it was already well known in the court that he had already killed, abused, and even sold off some of his previous wives as slaves. There was no way in hell she would sit back and allow the same to happen to her.

Though she had no power at court and was forced to live like dirt, she still carried the pride and honor of an imperial princess. It was ingrained in her by her deceased parents from a very young age, and it would be with her the day she entered her final rest.

Auri was stubborn and she wouldn’t let herself give up without a fight.